Help me find a place to retire

[russianswinga]

russianswinga Montenegro has a lot going for it. We were just in Split and Dubrovnik and it felt like that entire region had a lot of untapped potential for those interested in ER.

Bigbang - you're absolutely right about the region. Pretty much everything except Albania is gorgeous (they have a lot of communist ugly left to clean up), then it's just your choice of what country and what flavor of Balkan immersion you want. I fully intend on getting to know Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, and the Greek isles very, very well if I make a home there. Hopefully I'll even be able to learn some rudimentary Serbian with all my free time, if not, I can get by with English and Russian.

[Panfish]

I am here in defense of Laramie, WY.  I moved here from Alaska about a year and half ago and I must say that this is one of the best places I have ever visited (and lived).  Laramie is at extreme elevation for a town of this size (7,200').  At this elevation the winter weather is very volatile and all of the highways in and out of town close on average about once every two weeks. The wind in winter can be very brutal outside of town but it isn't to bad within the city limits. the Cost of living here is about average for the nation but a little higher than you would expect in Wyoming.

In my opinion that is all there really is for the bad.  Laramie is nestled in a high valley between the Laramie Mountain Range a few miles to the east and the Snowy Mountain Range about 30 miles to the west.  Both of these ranges have endless hiking and mountain biking trails which turn into cross country ski trails in the winter.  both mountain ranges have fishing and hunting opportunities galore as well as bountiful wildlife for viewing.  15 miles east of town is the legendary climbing area the Vedeawoo rock formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedauwoo .  Laramie is enough off of the beaten path that most of the recreation is completely uncrowded.  There is a local ski hill 30 minutes away and Steamboat Springs is only 2 hours away.

The summer is usually about 70 to 85 degrees for the high and 50 to 60 for the low. Basically every street has a bike lane and it is easy to hop on the roads leaving town in a bike and get to any of the recreation I have talked about.

As for a 'red' town, yes Laramie is going to be more conservative than your average college town, but in reality it averages out to be very middle of the road.  It's actually very interesting politically and it is quite the melting pot between cowboys, hipsters, climbers, outdoorsmen, hippies, construction folks, and university types all getting along shockingly well.  It has a kind of libertarian thing gong on where people are just free to be themselves.  Wouldn't you rather have this culture than your average group think 'red' and 'blue' areas?

Laramie has very, very nice city parks that are spread through town and easy to get to.  The east edge of town has a 2 mile square wild prairie area that is open to the public with canyons and trails and jackrabbits and antelope.

If you need to go to a bigger town for bigger town things then Cheyenne at 60,000 population and Fort Collins at 150,000 population are both an hour or less away.  Denver is a hair over 2 hours away.  The airport does 25 minute puddle jumper planes to Denver international with free parking for about $150 round trip. 

Wyoming has no state income tax and no tax on food.  There are at least 3 breweries downtown with one of them (Coal Creek Tap) having some of the best beers in their varietals that I have every had.  The town has a Thursday and a Friday farmers market that are both very good.  Laramie has very little crime and pretty much everyone you meet is super nice.  I don't have children but I have heard that the school district is very good.

Laramie won't be for everyone but it certainly has its positive points.

[TheOldestYoungMan]

Thank you all for the wonderful info.

I had never heard about the PNW allergy thing, so I'd probably need to take an extended vacation up there to see how bad that is.  I do fine in San Francisco, is it much worse up there?

Laramie is an interesting choice I'd honestly never considered.  I'd have to be far outside in rural WY though, as the Laramie FD is fully paid and covers the whole area.  So it's a #6 fail.  Still marking it down for a visit.

Those pictures of Montenegro are amazing.  Likewise the idea of moving to an ultra low cost of living area and just retiring now is appealing, but I have a few reservations.

First off, I have zero capacity for language.  I've tried to pick up a few, and believe it would come eventually if I just lived there, but I also know it would be years before I could have a conversation, so going there alone to live is more than a little daunting.

I'll look into it though, figuring out what all the details look like (healthcare, bills, transactional costs of real estate, etc.).

Probably USA all the way though in reality.

Las Vegas does appeal to me, I've thought about that several times.  I had a roommate in college who was from LV and he hated it.  I figure it's similar to what I've got down here, a "normal" city but instead of a huge oil and gas complex destroying the environment there's a huge gambling complex destroying the moral fabric of society.  The desert is probably more my type of nature, lots of cool rocks and so forth.  Looks like the FD is paid, so again I'd be out in the rural/suburb areas for my favorite hobby.

For those curious, paid FD isn't nearly as much fun as VFD (though it is still super fun!).

I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to Colorado and NV/AZ/NM if anyone has more thoughts on those areas.

[Poeirenta]

Maybe check out the inland NW (east side of the cascades). Goodness knows we could use more volunteer firefighters (most of the departments in my county are structure and wildfire and sometimes rescue) Doesn't really suit your "not cold" requirement, but there are quite a few small towns and small cities that would hit most of the others. One major downside that we didn't realize until we moved is the state of rural healthcare-we have to travel about 200 miles r/t for specialists of any sort, but we are in a small town in north central WA. Try a road trip up highway 97 from CA to Canada and see If anything grabs ya. As far as allergies, mine are way better since we left Seattle, and yet we have a lot of hay growers...maybe it was the mold not the grass!

[Bracken_Joy]

I had never heard about the PNW allergy thing, so I'd probably need to take an extended vacation up there to see how bad that is.  I do fine in San Francisco, is it much worse up there?

Sadly, yes. Yes it is. The way my allergenist explained it, the willamette valley gets a triple whammy: grass seed capitol of the world means our summers are allergy heavy. Mold growth in the winter means more allergies. And anytime the polar jet stream is strong, a bunch of novel allergens from Japan pool in the valley. Makes it a nightmare to identify your allergens, too.

It IS a lot better inland though- cascades and over are very clear unless you're allergic to sage or juniper blooming (those are the two major events over there people tend to react to).

[Exflyboy]

yup.. we are seriously going to HAVE to move out of the Willamette Valley for this very reason, even though our property is perfect for all out other needs.

[Bracken_Joy]

yup.. we are seriously going to HAVE to move out of the Willamette Valley for this very reason, even though our property is perfect for all out other needs.

You're in Corvallis if I recall? There is a fantastic allergy clinic there. If you know what you have a sensitivity to, you can do exposures. I know several people who have done it, and all have had fantastic results, even a couple years out. IIRC, it's the Corvallis Clinic, but I can check the name if you would like that info. Just send me a PM to remind me =)

Corvallis in particular is also the worst of the worst. Even Eugene is incrementally better.

[Exflyboy]

yup.. we are seriously going to HAVE to move out of the Willamette Valley for this very reason, even though our property is perfect for all out other needs.

You're in Corvallis if I recall? There is a fantastic allergy clinic there. If you know what you have a sensitivity to, you can do exposures. I know several people who have done it, and all have had fantastic results, even a couple years out. IIRC, it's the Corvallis Clinic, but I can check the name if you would like that info. Just send me a PM to remind me =)

Corvallis in particular is also the worst of the worst. Even Eugene is incrementally better.

Actually its my poor Wife.. I have been here for 19 years and don't have the slightest reaction. Wife is a sensitive redhead and has been through the full panel up at the Corvallis clinic. She also suffers from asthma and associated derma issues.

Apparently the allergies have now gone internal or something and she gets gradually worse every year..

Even the clinic told her, her only option was to move.

[Bracken_Joy]

yup.. we are seriously going to HAVE to move out of the Willamette Valley for this very reason, even though our property is perfect for all out other needs.

You're in Corvallis if I recall? There is a fantastic allergy clinic there. If you know what you have a sensitivity to, you can do exposures. I know several people who have done it, and all have had fantastic results, even a couple years out. IIRC, it's the Corvallis Clinic, but I can check the name if you would like that info. Just send me a PM to remind me =)

Corvallis in particular is also the worst of the worst. Even Eugene is incrementally better.

Actually its my poor Wife.. I have been here for 19 years and don't have the slightest reaction. Wife is a sensitive redhead and has been through the full panel up at the Corvallis clinic. She also suffers from asthma and associated derma issues.

Apparently the allergies have now gone internal or something and she gets gradually worse every year..

Even the clinic told her, her only option was to move.

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that. Sadly, I think it's the Valley's main form of population control. That and the rain.